Matt Frattin & Joe Colborne Scouting Reports

Below are a few notes on Joe Colborne and Matt Frattin from their Leafs debut.

Before getting to the scouting reports, I want to state that it is inconceivable to judge these players based on their performance from Saturday night, or based on a single game at the NHL level, so take these as viewings with a grain of salt. I thought they both handled themselves well and were both assertive and contributed something on every shift.

Colborne has had the benefit of playing in the AHL, while Frattin is coming in fresh out of a successful stint in college.

Matt Frattin
Looked comfortable handling the puck through center ice with or without support .. calm and composed, seemed to handle the pace and didn’t panic in rushed instances .. handed an open net when Price lost the puck near blueline but the puck was bouncing when he tried to shoot and the shot went off way wide .. wide arced, bow-legged stride, balanced in stride and strong when he plants .. skates with some reckless abandon and despite some raggedy tendencies, could change direction quickly, making him elusive .. always found himself around the puck .. seemed to instinctively look for the big hit should the opportunity arise .. good instincts on driving through to the crease area which resulted in a dangerous tip at end of first period .. calm and poised with the puck while rushing, exhibiting patience in a second period rush where he weaved through the neutral zone penetrating the blueline .. good release, hard shot from short windup, but operated within a shoot-first mentality and hurried shooting opportunities perhaps as a measure of time/pace .. had a good sense of making the right play for the circumstances, sacrificing his body like when clearing the puck out of the zone, knowing he would be hit .. not only kept up, but was dangerous at times showing a strong desire to get to dirty areas and a nose for risk .. project, with skills and sense to work on improvement.

Joe Colborne
Underway into professional career with multiple appearances with the Toronto Marlies .. tried to assert himself early with uncharacteristic physical play, shaking off nerves getting involved early and adjusting to NHL pace and physicality .. settled down in the second looking more comfortable playing a safer game .. seemed to overhandle the puck early and skated himself into corners only to double back into his lane instead of driving into the middle or making a play towards the goal .. had to just get to the net with the same passion and commitment that he did with the Marlies, and did at times .. overhandled the puck trying to skate it out of the Leafs zone, which oddly enough ended up on Phil Kessel’s stick and in a Leafs goal .. used long reach and deceptive change of pace that resulted in a turnover right in front of the net where he passed it off to streaking teammate, ending in a scoring chance – creating plays out of nothing .. was caught stationary on occassion instead of finding space .. still holds his stick at his waist, and stick prep has to be better, especially with the speed of the NHL game being even quicker than in the AHL .. must also overcome skating himself into a corner and limiting options .. was assertive and made some nice passes both long across zones and short down low .. shook off early rust and contributed something on every shift .. some good tools and drive into dirty areas .. tempered expectations aside, has great makings for a second line pivot.